Brazil is the largest country in Latin America. Known as a "continent country," Brazil is the fifth-largest country on the planet, behind Russia, Canada, the United States, and China. With an area of 8,547,404 km², the country occupies half of South America, sharing borders with Uruguay and Argentina to the south, Paraguay to the south-southwest, Bolivia to the west-southwest, Peru to the west, Colombia to the west-northwest, Venezuela to the northwest, Guyana to the north-northwest, Suriname and France to the north (through French Guiana), which means it borders most countries on the continent except for Chile and Ecuador. The country has a population of over 215 million people. A former Portuguese colony, Brazil’s official language is Portuguese, while most Latin American countries have Spanish as their official language.
In 2017, according to the IMF, Brazil's GDP was 2,054 billion US dollars, making it the eighth-largest economic power in the world. Considered a major emerging power, the country is a member of the United Nations, Mercosur, the G20, and the BRICS. In terms of military power, the Brazilian armed forces are ranked among the top twenty military powers and remain the most important in the Americas, behind that of the United States. Alongside China, India, and Russia, Brazil is considered one of the few countries with the potential to become a global superpower one day.
The Brazilian population is characterized by significant ethnic and cultural diversity: according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Brazil has 47.7% White people, 43.1% Mixed-race people, 7.6% Black people, and about 2% Asian and Indigenous people. A large number of Brazilians have ancestors from European countries, mainly from Portugal, followed by Italy, Germany, and Spain. Most Black Brazilians, meanwhile, have roots in Sub-Saharan Africa, primarily from Angola. Like its neighbors, Brazil is a predominantly Christian country (89%). With 123 million followers, it is the second-largest Christian nation in the world (behind the United States, where the majority of the population is Protestant) and the largest Catholic nation.
Rich in natural resources, Brazil has been identified as a new oil power. Huge pre-salt oil reserves have been discovered in the Santos and Campos basins off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Recoverable reserves have continuously been revised upwards: in 2013, they were estimated at 106 billion barrels according to the IEA, "which means more reserves have been discovered in Brazil than in any other country," the IEA points out.
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Brazil
